Many ways Manuka

Some of my designs have had many iterations before I settle on the final pattern. The manuka print is definitely one of those. Initially I did try to include the little leaves but in the end, as you will see I left them out and made the tiny flower into a hero.

This print and colourway is quite romantic. I find myself using it when I need some self love. Some other themes of this design is soft power, balance and joy.

Unfortunately the marketplace has designated ‘pink’ as being the colour for girls. This is so wrong in my opinion. Pink is reflective of a state of mind and has nothing to do with gender. However from a gender perspective it was actually the other way around not that long ago. Magenta was masculine and blue was feminine. Pink represents friendship, inner peace, approachability and I’d like to add a quality to this for our contemporary times, and that would be ‘bravery’.

Most of the floral fabrics at the time were very English country garden and I wanted a similar effect, but with a locally recognised and celebrated flower.  I wanted to create a timeless New Zealand floral pattern that could be used at any time of the year. Also, the tiny flower is really only enjoyed en masse, as they are so small, so I wanted to make the individual flower into a hero.   

Here's a few of my versions of the manuka print.